Process for recovery of grease or fat



Patented July 15 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT oFF c I FREDERICK EARL BALEY, or ELWoon, NEAR MELBouRiIE, :VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA PROCESS FORREcovEEY or eR AsE on. FAT

No Drawing. Application filed August 22, 1923, Serial no. 658,?39, aiidin Australia September 19, 1922.

This invention relates to a process for the recovery of wool grease fromwool scour liquors or mud and the refiningof wool grease and fats suchas mutton and beef tallow to provide an odorless grease or fat of greatcommercial utility.

Anhydrous adeps lanae is preferably produced directly from Wool scouringliquor or mud and the process employed in this invention is cheap,simple, and effective.

Liquors from boiling down processes may be treated in a similar way torecover the fats contained therein.

The process consists of three main steps, which steps will be describedin order in the following three paragraphs.

First, the Wool scour liquors or the like are mixed with a suitableuantity of water and the whole is then for ibly circulated in an endlesscycle through a vat or tank. This circulation causes frothing of thesolution. The activity of'frothing can be, and preferably is, increasedby mechanical agitation. The wool greases or fats, being light, are thussuspended in the froth at the surface of the solution. It is alsopreferable to increase the agitation and frot-hing by injecting a streamof air into the circulating solution and into the bottom of the vat.This maybe done by a frothing device such as those dis: closed in thepatents to Hockley, 466,753; Kirby, 809,959; or Hyde, 1,022,085.

The froth, which consists of greases and fats, and also dirt and foreignmatter, suspended in a quantity of foamy liquor, is then removed andtreated in a separate'ta-nk to deodorize and clarify the fat andseparated to recover the wool fat in purified'form. A

suitable substance or agent for carrying out this treatment or reactionconsists of a mixture of nitrogen which is usually considered as proteidin its nature and starch in the proportions of one part of nitrogencalculated as proteid to'ten parts of starch, sodium or potassiumhydrate, and Water. It has been found that potatoes, minced into smallpieces, will provide the desired or requisite form of proteids andstarch but of course these latter substances may be obtained from othermaterials and used with satisfactory results. The proportions used inthe mixture will. depend upon the nature of the froth and the quantityof mixture will depend upon :t'he quantity of froth to be treated; Forex- -ample,'in onev formula, one ton of minced.

potatoes, two cwt. ofsodium or' potassium hydrate, and 240 gallonsof'water are mixed toprovide a suitable agent. Thecombination of,caustic soda and potatomay then be diluted toaiiy required strengthwhich varies iiiwide limits depending on the nature of the mate rialtreated, but for general purposes one part of the compound, to fiveparts of Water has been found to be satisfactory. A heat ofapproximately 212 F. is then I applied. throughout a period of about twohours, thus causing a chemical and physical reaction to take place.During this reaction, the wool fat is clarified and deodorized and thedirt and foreign matter is separated out and drops to the bottom. Thegreases and fats rise to the surface, and contain slight amounts of theliquor or solution.

These greases and fats are removed and subjected to heat. All moistureis boiled from them to leave a pure anhydrous Wool grease or fat readyfor commercial. use. The liquors remaining in the first and second vatsmay be again circulated and agitated to produce a froth and thus secureany greases and fats which escaped during the first treatment. Thesemaythen, in the same manner as outlined above, be further treated todeodorize, clarify, and separate them from the liquors and impurities.

Having now described my invention with particularity, what I claim is l.A process for the recovery of the fats from wool scour solutionsand'muds which froth in which is contained the fat from the wool scoursolution and in which is contained a quantity of d rt and foreignmater1al, treat-.

ing the removed froth with a mixture of 'water, alkali hydrate, andfariuaceous vegetent as one ton of potatoes, and heating the vmixturefor a proximately two hours at a separating the fat 'from the dirt andforeign material, thus leaving a liquor consisting of a portion of saidmixture together with the dirt and forei material, and evaporating themoisture 6m the separated fat,

2. A process as defined in claim 1 wherein a stream of air is injectedinto the agitated solution to aid'frothing. i

3. The process defined in claim 1 wherein the step of treating theremoved froth comprises adding to the froth a mixture in the approximateproportions of 240 gallons of water, 2 cwt. of an alkali h drate, and aquantitgsofi farinaoeous vegeta le product having 511 tantially the sameproteid and starch contemperature 0 about 212 F. 7

4. The process defined in claim 1 wherein the step of treating theremoved froth comiadding to the froth a mixture in the approximateproportions of one ton of minced potatoes to 200 lbs. of alkali hydrateand 240 gallons of Water, and heating the mixture for stillstantiall twohours at a temperature of about 212 Signed'at Melbourne, Victoria,Australia, this23rd day of July, 1923.

FREDERICK EARL BAILEY.

